For further information on the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) Gas Centrifuge
facilities, contact us.

Gas Centrifuge Deployment

The USEC Inc. objective is to replicate the existing U.S. technology and reduce costs using advances in carbon fiber and other material and manufacturing technologies. The USEC Inc. program would be performed in three phases:

a demonstration phase entirely under DOE auspices and regulatory control;

the American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility (Lead Cascade) phase; and

the commercial deployment of the American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) phase.

The demonstration phase, which is primarily being conducted by USEC Inc. in Oak Ridge, TN, is intended to provide detailed test data for the gas centrifuge machines. The Lead Cascade phase is intended to provide reliability information on a group of machines and the auxiliary systems as they would be used in commercial operations. The Lead Cascade, consisting of up to 240 centrifuges, will recycle the enriched and depleted uranium it produces. The only uranium withdrawals from the cascade will be in the form of small samples. In February 2003, USEC Inc. submitted its license application for the Lead Cascade to the NRC. After conducting detailed safety, security, and environmental reviews, the NRC granted USEC Inc. a license for the Lead Cascade in February 2004. USEC began operating the Lead Cascade in August of 2006.

In the commercial deployment phase, the commercial plant (ACP) would have a capacity of 3.8 million separative work units (SWU) per year, with an upper U-235 enrichment limit of 10 percent. USEC Inc. submitted a license application for the ACP in August 2004. The Lead Cascade and the ACP are primarily housed in DOE's existing Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant (GCEP) site, located at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon, Ohio.

On December 7, 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy and the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) entered into a supplemental lease agreement specifically applicable to facilities, areas, and personal property at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon, Ohio, used for the construction and operation of USEC Inc.'s ACP and its Lead Cascade. USEC Inc. is the parent corporation.

Safety and Security Licensing Review

On February 7, 2005, NRC completed its initial technical safety and security reviews of the license application for the proposed American Centrifuge Plant and issued a request for additional information (RAI) to USEC Inc. On March 9, 2005, USEC Inc. provided responses to the RAIs. The NRC documented its safety and security reviews in a safety evaluation report that was issued on September 11, 2006.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board held its mandatory hearing in March 2007, and
rendered its decision authorizing the staff to issue a license for the USEC ACP in April 2007
The staff issued the license on April 13, 2007.

Environmental Review

NRC develops, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for "major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." Licensing a uranium enrichment facility is considered a "major Federal action," requiring an EIS. For more information about the NEPA and the environmental review process, see Frequently Asked Questions About NRC's Role Under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The NRC staff held a public meeting on the scope of the EIS for the proposed American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) on January 18, 2005, in Piketon, Ohio. The public was encouraged to provide comments on the NRC's scoping process. A Scoping Summary Report was published on April 28, 2005. On February 23, 2005, NRC issued RAIs related to the environmental review, to which USEC has provided several responses.

Additionally, the NRC completed its NEPA review with the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 consultation requirements as outlined in 36 CFR Part 800.8. Please see the NRC’s Summary of Section 106 Correspondence and Surveys. The NRC has also consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). On November 1, 2005, the NRC provided the FWS with its finding of "no effect" on listed species and critical habitat. The FWS provided its concurrence on November 16, 2005.

The Lead Cascade

USEC Inc. submitted an application for the Lead Cascade facility on February 11, 2003. On January 27, 2004, a Notice containing the Finding of No Significant Impact and an announcement of the availability of the Environmental Assessment for USEC Inc.'s license application for its Lead Cascade facility was published in the Federal Register. The Safety Evaluation Report for this facility was issued on January 28, 2004. The NRC issued Material License SNM-7003 to USEC Inc. for this facility on February 24, 2004, after DOE approved the lease on February 17, 2004, allowing USEC Inc. to refurbish and subsequently operate the facility in accordance with its license application.

On August 25, 2006, the NRC assumed regulatory oversight of the Lead Cascade facility from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in accordance with the March 24, 2004, Memorandum of Understanding entitled "Cooperation Regarding the Gas Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facilities at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant." Transition of regulatory oversight from DOE to the NRC authorizes USEC Inc. to introduce uranium hexafluoride into the Lead Cascade.

NRC/DOE Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Lead Cascade and American Centrifuge Plant

On March 24, 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy signed a Memorandum
of Understanding to foster cooperation regarding the Gas Centrifuge Lead Cascade facilities at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.
On March 21, 2007, the NRC and DOE signed a similar Memorandum of Understanding regarding the American Centrifuge Plant.

Public Involvement

Meeting Schedule

For upcoming meetings, see also our Public Meeting Schedule. Information for the meetings on this page are available at this Web site or in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) if an accession number is given.

Transfer of License

On February 10, 2009, USEC Inc. submitted a request for NRC’s consent to transfer control of license Nos. SNM-7003 and SNM-2011 from USEC Inc. to a subsidiary, limited liability company, American Centrifuge Operating, LLC. In addition, the Licensee requested NRC’s approval of changes to the Lead Cascade and the ACP Material Licenses, License Applications, and Security Program documents to reflect changes in the USEC Inc. corporate structure and the proposed change of licensee. No physical or operational changes to the Lead Cascade or the ACP were being proposed.

By letter dated November 25, 2009, USEC withdrew its request.

The following is a list of correspondence applicable to this licensing action:

On September 10, 2010, USEC Inc. submitted a new request for NRC's consent to directly transfer control of licenses Nos. SNM-7003 and SNM-2011 from USEC Inc. to a subsidiary, limited liability company, American Centrifuge Operating (ACO), LLC. Upon NRC’s approval of the transfer, USEC will make conforming changes to the License Applications, and Security Program documents to reflect ACO as the licensee. No physical or operational changes to the Lead Cascade or the ACP are being proposed.

On February 10, 2011, NRC issued an order approving the transfer of the two referenced licenses, subject to various conditions.

The following is a list of correspondence applicable to this licensing action: